First star I see tonight...
The collar sat quietly on her desk and the bauble attached gleamed splendidly in the light. It was no bigger than a marble, if only, and screamed silently in its relentless allure. Oh, it begged to be used; to be held and caressed and worshiped. From its perch, it promised power and whispered of wealth.
It had caught Diamond Dancer's eye with its glistening glare and bold proclamation of adventure and excitement. It demanded her attention, holding her gaze and refusing to release it, until the filly climbed from her bed and trudged across the room and slipped it on. It glimmered gently against her blackened silver fur, and softly, Diamond lapped at her lips.
Days off were normally boring days, odd as it may sound. Diamond's existence revolved around Princess Luna's needs, and despite her own interests and desires, Diamond was never truly happy unless she was doing something to please her princess. Days off were days where Diamond didn't know what to do with herself. Days when all the stars had been looked at and she'd exhausted her patience with her telescope. Bardigan was busy writing a show, and all of her books on constellations had been read. Days off were dangerous days.
The orb dangling from her collar mysteriously had no weight to it. It simply seemed to exist beyond the scope of physics. It bounced gently with her breathing and glinted even when no light could reach it. To most ponies, it was simply a pretty gem. To Diamond Dancer, it was a bomb of untold magnitude. Well, it could be. It was subtle in its danger and relative in its risk. It prompted both extreme caution and callous indifference, safest when Diamond forgot she was wearing it and most dangerous when it held audience with her attention. Softly, she cupped it in her hooves. It was a shard of a star. The tiniest fragment really, capsuled in glass and given to Diamond from the Princess of the night herself; a prize for the first errand she'd ever run for her. How could Luna have known the shard still held the power to grant wishes? Luna had given it to Diamond freely and was not in the habit of revoking gifts from her subjects, especially ones that worshiped the night over the day. To her fortune, the filly proved responsible in its use. Mostly.
Diamond had no needs and her wants were taken care of. Her desire to find a family was forever resolved when her older brother, Bardigan, had chosen to adopt her. Her need for a purpose pacified when Princess Luna crafted a job for her as the Night's Errant. Her thirst for adventure quenched by Luna's constant demands to root out artifacts long lost in dungeons and caverns too old to be recalled. Gold did not sway her. Power was of no concern. The only greed she fell victim too was the endless desire to please her princess. The clawing need to fulfill her wishes and seek out smiles from the queen of evenings. Perhaps it was why Luna deemed it fit to leave the jewel in Diamond's care. She was not yet old enough to know of the world in such a way that would sway her desires and illicit selfishness. Her loyalty to Luna was an unbreakable leash, tethered to a motherly figure that Diamond wouldn't dare disappoint. A psychological cage constructed of unending love and loyalty, and that meant the safest place for an object of such impossible power was wrapped around the filly's neck.
"I wish..." Diamond paused, letting the words dangle on her tongue. The glistening orb in her hooves trembled in anticipation. The star was listening, waiting, wanton in its hunger to be used. Diamond drew in a quiet breath and held it in her lungs. It was a boring day. What could she do to fix that? Well, anything she wished for would fix such an issue. Immediately. For better or for worse.
"I wish Bardigan wasn't so busy and could hang out with me," Diamond whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. That was an innocuous wish, right? Nothing too terrible could be the result of such an innocent desire, right? Spending time with her brother wasn't a big deal, was it? The star in her hooves flashed brightly, then sputtered back to the dull glow it usually sported. Diamond cracked an eye open and glanced around her room. It was still the same. Big Bay windows. Telescope pointed outside, star charts on the walls, glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. Wonderbolts autograph book and posters. Messy bed covered in stuffed animals. Diamond shivered. This was the worst part. The scary part. The part that held one thousand different ways for things to go wrong. The star had done something and now Diamond had to figure out what it was. Would Bardigan march into her room and announce he didn't love her anymore and she had to go back to the orphanage? Would he tell her he was going on a trip out of town and never come back? Ten seconds of hanging out was still hanging out. She winced. It was not a wish she'd thought through. On full alert now, Diamond splayed her wings and took a combat-ready pose. Whatever the star had done, she'd discover it soon enough. Best to be prepared in case the worst she could imagine came to pass.
On the bed, her stuffed teddy bear, Freddy, climbed to its little brown paws and waved to her. Diamond stared. It cocked its head to the left, then the right, and slowly climbed from the bed onto the floor, where it waddled towards Diamond Dancer. In utter awe, Diamond watched the creature meander across the room, and it sat down quietly in front of her and looked up at her expectantly.
"...Uh...okaaaaaaaaaaaay. Not what I was expecting, but I'll roll with it. Say, you'se ain't gonna jump scare me, right?" Diamond asked warily. The little bear shrugged.
"Are you...ok, wait, are you'se alive because of the star, or have you'se always been alive and just never said nothin'?" Diamond asked, peering at the bear thoughtfully. The tiny teddy shrugged its shoulders again. Diamond nodded. Right.
"Ok. Alright. So...this is cool, I think. Sure. What do you wanna do?" Diamond asked. Despite her nervousness, she could feel a smile coming on. She accidentally bought one of her stuffed animals to life. Now that she was getting over the shock of things, this was turning out to be amazing. The little teddy bear shrugged its shoulders and climbed to its little plushie feet. It stepped towards Diamond's desk and pointed up at the stereo.
"...Music? You want music?" Diamond asked. The bear nodded. Diamond shrugged. The filly wandered over, and reached a hoof out to tap at the device. Turning the dial provided the room with a steady burst of sound. Something on the charts by DJ Pon3. To Diamond's glee, the bear began to dance.
"EEEEEE! DANCE PARTY!!!" Diamond squealed, prancing in place. She couldn't keep the beat, but she didn't really care. It wasn't what she'd asked for from the star, which was odd, but she wasn't complaining! This was cool! More importantly, this was fun! This was alleviating her boredom, but what kind of party was it to only have two attendees? Diamond shot a glance over to the rest of the stuffed animals on her bed. Hmmmm...
* * * * *
Thumping sounds were not unusual in the cottage. The numerous bumps and thuds that echoed overhead had long since stopped affecting Bardigan's sense of curiosity. One way or another, he was sure it was his little sister. It was a common occurrence for her to enter and exit her room via the big bay windows that lined the walls, and each and every time her arrival and departure was accompanied by a chorus of thuds and thumps. He'd learned early on to filter out the percussion of sound that rang out from above, and keep his focus on his scripts.
No. It was not the thumping sounds that caught his attention, but the abrupt and thunderous sound of wood clattering against wood. The booming sound of a door violently being slammed shut rippled through the air, and forced his ears to perk and brow to knit
"Diamond?" he called cautiously. Moments ticked by escorted by another series of vicious thumps that bit through the air.
"....Yeeeeeah?" came the reply. Strained and stressed. Bardigan frowned, slowly raising from his desk. Tonight, like the night before that, and the night before that and so on and so on, he'd been locked in his office, feverishly crafting a play. This one a Tale of Two Sisters. A gift for the princesses of the realm, and or apology, depending on if Luna recalled the last time they had met and the disastrous 'date' that followed. The stallion peered up at the ceiling, overhead where the thumping sounds continued and slowly pulled himself free from his desk and towards the door.
"Is everything alright? What's that sound?" He called.
'Nothing! Everything's great! Don't come upstairs!" Came a yelp from the upper floors. Even though there was nopony around to see it, Bardigan raised an eyebrow. A habit cultivated from living with his younger sister. She could direct an airplane with the gigantic flags she was waving. He sighed and trudged towards the office door and flung it open. The cottage looked perfectly normal. Diamond was on the second floor somewhere. He narrowed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever was about to happen. Or what was about to break. Sometimes it was as if Diamond's favorite game in the whole world was "Will Bardigan's insurance cover this?" Slowly, the large pegasus made his way to the staircase and marched up as stoically as possible. Across the hall, Diamond had her back against the door to her room, bracing it, as if she were trying to keep something inside while at the same time, the door bulged and thumped with a mysterious force on the other side. Wonderful.
"Do I want to know?" He asked. Diamond peered up at him and forced a wide grin.
"Probably not,"
"Did you summon something?"
"Technically, no. Although I may have accidentally imbued some of my stuffed animals with the spark of life,"
"Diamond. How many is 'some?"
"Whatever number is between "Whoops" and "Way too many,""
"Did you make a wish on your star?"
"...Ok. So, theoretically, if I were to say 'yes' how long would I be grounded?"
"A good week,"
"I have absolutely no idea how this happened," Diamond squeaked instantly. The door thumped. Bardigan sighed. As casually as he could muster without giving into panic, he turned around and trekked back down the stairs and entered the kitchen. He grabbed a chair from the table, and returned to the upstairs hallway, where he firmly stuffed it under the handle of Diamond's door creating a makeshift barricade. Then, without missing a beat, he turned his sights to the nervous looking filly standing next to him.
"It's story time, Diamond. Tell me a tale," he grumped. Diamond giggled nervously and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof.
"Ok, so, once upon a time there was this really, really, really sorry filly who was really sweet and always meant well. She's usually, like, super awesome and totally careful and stuff, and she was bored and totally made a mistake by maybe using her star to ask for her brother to hang out with her, cause her super awesome, totally merciful brother was busy writing shows and she didn't wanna bug him just cause she was feelin' lonely. She made a dumb wish, and she learned her lesson and she totally doesn't need to be grounded or nothing, cause she's super duper sorry and came clean so her big handsome, awesome brother let her off the hook. The end," Diamond squawked. Bardigan rolled his eyes. With a strong brown wing, the pegasus stallion reached over and tugged Diamond in close. He knelt down and peered into her eyes.
"I am. Never. To busy. For you." He hissed. Diamond's shoulders immediately slumped and she leaned in, resting her head against his shoulder.
"I know, but, I don't never wanna bug you'se. You'se is always workin' super hard on your shows n' plays n' musicals, and it's selfish n' stuff for me ta drag you'se away from all that jus' cause I'm lonely, ya know? It's your passion n' I'm gittin in the way," Diamond sniffled quietly. Bardigan shook his head, deploying his infamous, heart-melting Best-Big-Brother, triple B smile.
"As much as I like sitting in that stuffy old office writing scripts, I'd much rather spend my time hanging out with you, Lil' Gem. Don't forget you're a treasure, okay? My treasure," Bardigan explained, sweeping the girl into a hug. She instantly squirmed and squeaked, wriggling in his forelegs.
"Ack! No hugs, no! I'm a fierce warrior of the night! What if somepony sees! Leggo!" she squawked, regardless of her own hooves wrapping around his neck in turn. She squeezed hard before tugging herself free, and shaking herself out. Bardigan smiled quietly, but it quickly faded when he realized the door to Diamond's room had stopped thumping. Diamond seemed to notice too, and her gaze drifted towards the door in question. She glanced curiously at Bardigan, who shrugged his shoulders and took a step forward. He pressed his ear against the door thoughtfully before glancing at Diamond, who did the same. With most of her senses no longer functional, Diamond's sense of hearing and vision were phenomenal to say the least. She peered up at Bardigan curiously and shrugged.
"They're...they're gone?" she croaked. She tugged the chair aside, and cautiously opened her door, peeking inside and immediately took stock of her room. Wonderbolt posters on the walls? Check. Telescope still pointed at the sky? Check. Glow in the dark stickers still on the ceiling? Check. Bed still there, pillows too? Check. Sheets tied into a rope ladder extending out the big bay windows to the ground? Check. Diamond sighed.
"A whole week, huh?" She asked. Bardigan glanced down at her. He nodded.
KZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT
The crackling sizzle of electricity snapped through the air, forcing both pairs of pony ears to perk and both pairs of eyes to squint through the sudden blanket of darkness that befell them. Bardigan had not cherished the idea of chasing down a myriad of stuffed animals his kid sister had managed to bring to life, but now it seemed like they had no plans of leaving the premises having cut the power and casting the two of them in darkness. Oh, yes, things were going to get much worse before they got better, he was sure of it.
"Diamond," Bardigan groaned, casting a glance at the tiny shadow next to him.
"Yes, Bardigan?" Diamond replied quickly.
"Did you imbue your stuffed animals with both life and malice?"
"That depends. What's 'malice'?" The silver filly asked.
"The distinct desire to be evil," The big brother pony groaned.
"Oh, then yeah, they're full of that! They turned on me when I mentioned giving them a bath in the washing machine," Diamond explained cheerfully. Bardigan squeezed his eyes shut.
"They're out for blood because of the washing machine?"
"Personally, I think it's because you use tide pods when you wash them,"
"Tide pods?"
"Tide pods are very controversial" Diamond explained. Bardigan did not respond. He was too busy rubbing his temples with his hooves and wondering what his epitaph might read. "Here lies Bardigan: Perished by Plushies" had a nice ring to it, he had to admit. Diamond trotted over to the staircase and peered down into the darkness of the first floor through the railing. Below her, she could see no shadows, but could catch the sound of padded footsteps racing through the rooms below.
"They're down there alright! I can hear em!" Diamond announced brightly. The larger stallion behind her nodded his head, and joined her in staring down the stairs.
"Alright, Diamond. How many stuffies did you bring to life?" He asked. He watched Diamond quietly lean back and start counting mentally, before she smiled and nodded her head.
"Fourteen! Hilda the Hippo, Rosco the Raccoon, Freddy the Teddy, Louie Jawstrong the Alligator, Tommy the Turtle, Esmeralda the Elephant, Willy the Wallaby, Misses Poppernickel the Dolphin, Jenny the Jackass, Mandy the Monkey, Honey the Bunny, Candy the Kitty, Leo the Lion, and Professor Phillip S. Bartleby the two-headed Dilophosaurous!" Diamond explained. Bardigan rubbed the bridge of his nose with another groan. Fourteen stuffed animals running wild in their home with who knows what they were planning. And yet, next to him, Diamond was smiling from ear to ear. She looked positively tickled, as if the situation hadn't dawned on her in the slightest she might be in danger.
"You seem happy to be in the throes of peril," Bardigan said flatly. Diamond glanced over at him, shining her silvery smile in his direction.
"Well, no, but I got my wish! I'm gettin' to spend time with you n' talk!" She squeaked, bustling with excitement. She quickly pranced around him in a tight circle, proudly displaying the little bits of filly that remained in a girl forced to grow up entirely too fast. He pulled her close with a foreleg and squeezed her against his side before she wriggled free from his grasp and bounced down the stairs, disappearing into the shadows of the first floor.
"Don't worry Bardy! I'll round 'em up super duper quick! They can't beat me! I'm invincible and I-OHGAWD!" the filly squealed with an echoing thud. Almost immediately, Bardigan pitched himself over the banister of the second floor and gracefully caught himself in mid-air with his wings, touching down in the main hall. Above him, Diamond was hanging upside down by a single hind leg. She seemed to have been entangled in a snare trap of some kind, and now dangled helplessly supported by a thick rope that was tied to the lighting fixture.
"...I ɥɐʌǝ ƃɹɐʌǝlʎ ǝɹɹoɹǝp ᴉu ɯʎ ɐssǝssɯǝuʇ oɟ ʇɥᴉs sᴉʇnɐʇᴉou" Diamond groaned. She squirmed and struggled, but couldn't manage to free herself from the snare holding her by the ankle. She huffed. A fat lot of good invulnerability was doing for her now! Carefully, Bardigan tugged himself into the air, hovering just over Diamond and eyed the rope holding her in its grasp.
"If you only wished to hang out with me, I don't understand why they're after us," Bardigan said, working to undo the knot holding Diamond's ankle. The filly shrugged.
"Iɟ I ɥɐp ʇo ƃnǝss' I,p ʍɐƃǝɹ ᴉʇ,s ɔɐnsǝ ɯʎ sʇɐɹ ᴉs ɥoɹɹᴉɟʎᴉuƃlʎ ǝʌᴉl," Diamond mumbled. Bardigan smirked.
"All the more reason not to use it then, huh?" He asked. With a final tug, the knot slipped loose and Diamond found herself, clattering to the floor on her head with a dull thud. She splayed out onto her back and lay there momentarily, peering up at the hovering figure of her brother and gave a groan.
"Speaking of stars, am I really grounded?" She whined. Bardigan raised an eye brow.
"That depends on if we survive the night. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. If we do, then yes," he said flatly. Diamond gave another groan.
"Up," Bardigan commanded, his voice gentle, while his tone insistent. The sort of order Diamond didn't question or rebuke. She scrambled onto his back with a spirited hop and wrapped her forelegs around his neck snugly. Despite having skin with near invulnerable levels of durability, (a weird birth defect of her crystal heritage) clutching Bardigan always managed to make Diamond feel safe, no matter the situation. She peered past him into the overwhelming darkness that had seized the cottage and searched for signs of the plush animals that were stalking them.
"We are going to walk to the front door, we are going to get as far away from here as we can, and we are going to get help. Diamond, I want you to use your night vision and keep a lookout for anything that might try to ambush us, understand?" Bardigan hissed to the filly atop him. Diamond scowled.
"What? We're just gonna leave? We can't do that! This is our house! We ain't gonna let some stuffed animals kick us out! 'Sides all my stuff is here!" Diamond huffed. Bardigan gave a groan and shook his head, already making his way towards the front door, regardless of his sister's protest.
"They are stuffed animals enchanted by extremely powerful magic. There's no telling what they're capable of and they already snared you once. They are setting booby traps for us, and I will not let them hurt you. We are leaving and that's final!" Bardigan snapped, marching towards the front door. Diamond frowned and gave the stallion's ears a firm tug, trying to steer him away from the door.
"H-Hey! If theys is settin' traps for us, wouldn't they set one at the front door since that's the main entrance and exit?" Diamond asked. Bardigan stopped in his tracks and winced. The girl had a point. Would they have rigged a trap of some kind at the main entrance? There were an awful lot of them, and it wouldn't have taken very long to set up something, considering the snare they'd set in only a few minutes time. Would it be safer to try another route? A window, perhaps? Could they-
"LEFT!!" Diamond squealed. Immediately Bardigan turned in the indicated direction and caught a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye. Faster than he could react to in the darkness, something raced pass the two of them and vanished down the hall.
"That was Misses Poppernickel! Come back!! Come back Misses Poppernickel! You're one of my favorites!! Don't go!" Diamond cried, hopping off of Bardigan's back to give chase to the stuffed dolphin that flopped and floundered down the hall.
"Diamond!! NO!!" Bardigan shouted. But it was too late. They were gone.
* * * * *
The sunlight trickled in past the blinds, doing its best to dominate the darkness of the cottage, but the day held no sway in a home where ponies of the night resided. Bardigan's eyes were used to gloom and darkness, and while his sister's night vision was beyond the scope of his comprehension (thanks to Luna's augmentation) he could still manage to make his way through the foyer without bumping into things. The cottage was a large one, large enough for Diamond to tear around without breaking too many objects in her path. Two floors with a number of rooms each. While nice most of the time, now it simply meant more rooms for him to search. He strolled along cautiously, straining his hearing for whatever scraps of sound he could catch, but the sound of silence was the only take away for his efforts. It was a sound (or lack thereof) that chilled him to the bone. His baby sister was a great many things, but 'quiet' was something that fell short of that list.
In the back of Bardigan's mind, he knew something had gone wrong. It fueled his movements, funneling energy into each cautious step he took through the darkened halls of his home. He didn't dare call out for Diamond, the creatures prowling the shadows did not need to know of his whereabouts. Or, perhaps they already knew and simply did not care. Could it be that them together was not their target, but only Diamond? Either way, it gave him an edge in the situation and paired with the fact that it was his cottage gave him the home turf advantage. He would not be defeated by stuffed animals, even magicked ones that seemed bloodthirsty. No. By the end of the day his hooves would be stained with cotton and fabric softener.
He trudged forward, keeping himself low to the floor with his senses opened to the world around him. To his dismay, he had not heard nor seen any signs of the stuffed animals running rampant in his home, after Diamond had charged off after them, nor had he seen or heard any signs of Diamond. This did not bode well. The most logical conclusion to this scenario was that they were all together somewhere, which held further promise of something dreadful on the horizon. He came to a stop, staring quietly passed the kitchen and into the darkened stairwell that led to the basement. The door had been left slightly ajar. The lingering vestige of Bardigan's common sense told him they were down there. It also told him he should high tail it out of the cottage and find the nearest guard and explain the situation. His sense of family told his common sense to take a hike and ushered him towards the door, while his sense of self-preservation shot itself in the head.
The basement was a gloom riddled den of history and relics. Artifacts of days long past consisting of pictures and memorabilia trapped in photo albums and ragged boxes. A treasure trove of memories masquerading as junk, and in the midst of it all was a circle of stuffed animals.
From the staircase, as far as Bardigan allowed himself to creep down, he could make out the faint shapes and sizes of the creatures mulling about in the shadows. They had formed a ring around a slightly larger figure, and even without being able to fully make her out, Bardigan was sure it was his sister. How had they managed to overtake her so quickly in the span of just a few minutes? Had the fact that they were her beloved toys stayed her hoof when they'd attacked her? Would she not strike a cherished fillyhood friend like Freddy the Teddy? The stallion crept down the stairs as silently as he could, mindful of the squeaky steps and noisy wood that might give away his position. To his fortune, or perhaps, misfortune, they seemed intently focused on Diamond Dancer. Now that he was closer, he could make her out more clearly. She was hogtied and resting on her back, with a liberal amount of duct tape affixed to her muzzle. She did not look pleased. He did not blame her. Without her ability to speak, Diamond wouldn't be making any wishes anytime soon, which put her at a distinct disadvantage, but something Bardigan could rectify if he could get to her.
The circled stuffed animals still had not noticed him, though, entirely too fixated on Diamond to pay attention to their surroundings, and Bardigan capitalized on this. The basement was not terribly large, but there was certainly enough room for him to spread his wings and take to the air, if only a couple of feet off the ground. It was all he needed to clear the ring of plushies and touch down next to Diamond.
"MRRMRMM!" Diamond squealed happily. Well, Bardigan assumed that was a happy noise she made. It sounded happy at least. He lowered his head and took on a defensive position, eyeing the surrounding creatures. Muscles tense, eyes narrowed, he prepared himself for battle. Fourteen against one weren't great odds, but he'd fight to the death to protect his sister!
"ALRIGHT! COME ON THEN! I'M READY!" Bardigan snarled. They sprang at once, as if on cue, pitching themselves violently at the stallion, one after another after another in a relentless attack.
"Seriously?" Bardigan asked, when the first plushie harmlessly bounced off his flank. Diamond had accidentally given them life, yes, malice, perhaps, but strength? Not so much. They were still cotton and polyester. He laughed, ignoring the vicious assault and got to work untying his sister with little in the way of difficulty. While a tiny filly like Diamond might have been overpowered by the sheer numbers, a full grown stallion was more than a match for a small army of stuffed animals.
"There! Are you okay, Diamond?" Bardigan asked, tearing the tape free of the silver filly's muzzle. Diamond immediately sat up and threw her forelegs around Bardigan's neck and squeezed him tightly.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE! You'se saved me!!! Big bruddah Bardigan rules!" Diamond squealed. She smiled dangerously wide, so much so that Bardigan was worried her head might be lopped off if it grew any wider.
"Of course I saved you! What big brother would ever let his little sister come to harm?!" He grinned. She giggled quietly, and climbed up onto his back, wrapping his forelegs around his neck again.
"You're the bestest pony evah, Bardigan!" She beamed. He laughed.
"Oh yeah? Even better than Princess Luna?" He chuckled. Diamond grinned smugly and to Bardigan's surprise, nodded her head.
"Well, yeah! I mean, Princess Luna's real neat n' all. She gave me these cool powers, and made a job for me, and granted me a wishin' star, but, you gave me a family. And it's all I ever wanted, and I couldn't ask for a better brother than you'se. Even if it's just the two of us, it's perfect," Diamond gushed. Bardigan nodded his head, a lofty lazily smile crossing his muzzle.
"And I couldn't ask for a better sister, Diamond," He said warmly.
"Really? Even though I'm always doin' stuff n' gettin' us into trouble?" she asked. He laughed.
"Of course. You're a great inspiration for shows! I can always come up with something thinking about our adventures!" He explained. She beamed quietly pausing in basking in the warm glow of family to take in the situation.
"Saaaaaaaaaay the animals stopped movin!" she announced. Bardigan looked around, sure enough, the creatures had all become inert. They slumped over lifelessly as if they'd never moved in the first place. Diamond tilted her head curiously.
"I...I guess I got my wish. I got to hang out with you'se. I suppose they don't need to be alive no more," She mused. Bardigan nodded his head.
"Well that's a relief. Come on, Lil 'gem, let's get these back into your room," He announced. Diamond scurried off his back and quickly began to gather up the animals one by one.
"So, Bardy, for real, am I grounded?"
"Eeeeeyup,"
"Awww come on! How was I supposed ta know the star would do that!"
"Doesn't matter. For the next week, everyday, you're sentenced to spending an hour of family time with your big brother,"
"Awww come on! I-wait, what?"
"You heard me. Starting now,"
Diamond glanced down at the glistening jewel bobbling from her collar and smiled quietly. It may not have given her quite what she'd wished for, but it granted her exactly what she'd wanted.